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■ "^^ THE 

1831 
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ACT OF INCORPORATION, 



CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS 



OF THE 



AMERICAN INSTITUTE 



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INSTRUCTION* 



BOSTON CLASSIC PRESS 
I . R. BUTTS. 



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ACT OF INCORPORATION. 



COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

l?f THE YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND 
THIRTYONE. 

An Act to incorporate the American Institute of Instruction. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of 
JRepresentatives, in General Court assembled, and by the au- 
thority of the same, That Francis Wayland, Jr, William B. 
Calhoun, William Sullivan, John Adams, John Park, Nathan 
Lord, Thomas H. Gallaudet, Andrew Yates, Theodore Fre- 
linghuysen, Roberts Vaux, William C. Fowler, Reuben 
Haines, Benjamin O. Peers, Nathan Guilford, Gideon F. 
Thayer, Solomon P. Miles, William C. Woodbridge, Eben- 
ezer Bailey, Abraham Andrews, Otis Everett and James 
G. Carter, together with their associates, be, and they here- 
by are made and constituted a Corporation in the City of 
Boston by the name of the American Institute of Instruc- 
tion, with all the powers, rights, duties and liabilities usu- 
ally incident to Corporations, for the purpose of promoting 
and improving the means of education and instruction in 
Morality, Science and Literature. 

Section 2, Be it further enacted, That the said Corpora- 
tion may appoint such officers and make such by-laws, 
rules and regulations, as it may see fit ; provided the same 
be consistent with the Constitution and Laws of this Com- 
monwealth. 



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Section 3. Be it further enacted, That said Corporation 
may hold real estate to the value of ten thousand dollars^ 
and personal estate to the value of twenty thousand dollars, 
in its corporate name ; and use and improve the same for 
the benefit of this institution, and for all lawful purposes 
incident to the powers hereby granted. 

Section 4. Be it further enacted, That any person named 
in this Act may call the first meeting of the members of 
this Corporation by public advertisement in any newspa- 
per printed in Boston, two weeks successively before the 
day of meeting. 

Section 5. Be it further enacted, That this Act shall be 
subject to be altered, or amended, or repealed at any time, 
at the will of the Legislature. 
In House of Representatives, March 3, 1831. 

Passed to be enacted. 

WM. B. CALHOUN, Speaker. 
In Senate, March 4, 1831. 

Passed to be enacted. 
SAMUEL LATHROP, President. 
March 4, 1831. — Approved, 

LEVI LINCOLN. 



CONSTITUTION 



OF THE 



AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF INSTRUCTION. 



PREAMBLE. 

We, whose names are hereunto subjoined, pledg- 
ing our zealous efforts to promote the cause of popu- 
lar education, agree to adopt the following Consti- 
tution, and to obey the By-Laws made in conformity 
thereto. . 

ARTICLE I NAME AND OBJECT. 

The Society shall be known by the title of the 
American Institute of Instruction. Its object 
shall be the diffusion of useful knowledge in regard 
to education. 

article II MEMBERS. 

1. Any gentleman of good moral character, in- 
terested in the subject of Education, may become a 
member of this Institute, by signing this Constitution, 
and paying at the time of his admission, a fee of one 
dollar.* 



*Membf'is of the rnstitiite may receive tlieir certificates of momhorsliip by 
sendinfj to the 'Pveiisurer tlie annuil agsessment. Gentlemen residing at a 
distancr', who wisli to ji'iii the Institute, mav do so by sending to the Tieasurer 
one dollar, and authi>rizing him to sign their names to the Constitution. 

1* 



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2. An annual assessment of one dollar, shall be 
laid upon each member, by neglecting to pay which, 
for more than one year after due notice from the 
Treasurer, he shall cease to be a member of the 
society. 

3. Any gentleman, by paying at one time the sum 
of twenty dollars, shall become a member of the 
Institute for life, and be exempted from all future 
assessments. 

4. Honorary members may be elected by the 
Institute, at the recommendation of two thirds of 
the Directors present at any stated meeting of that 
Board. 

5. For dishonorable or immoral conduct, a mem- 
ber may be dismissed from the society, by a vote of 
two thirds of the members present, at any regular 
meeting. 

6. Ladies, engaged in the business of instruction, 
shall be invited to hear the annual address, lectures, 
and reports of committees on subjects of Education. 

ARTICLE III MEETINGS. 

1. The annual meeting of the Institute shall be 
held at Boston, on the Thursday next preceding the 
last Wednesday in August, at such place and hour as 
the Board of Directors shall order. 

2. Special meetings may be called by the Di- 
rectors. 

3. Due notice of the meetings of the society shall 
be given in the public journals. 



ARTICLE IV OFFICERS. 

1. The officers of the society shall be a President, 
Vice Presidents, a Recording Secretary, two Cor- 
responding Secretaries, a Treasurer, three Curators, 
three Censors, and twelve Counsellors, who shall 
constitute a Board of Directors. 

2. The officers shall be elected annually, in 
August, by ballot. 

ARTICLE V DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 

1. The President, or, in his absence, one of the 
Vice Presidents, or, in their absence, a President 
'pro tempore, shall preside at the meetings of the 
Institute. 

2. The Rej^ording Secretary shall notify all meet- 
ings of the society, and of the Board of Directors ; 
and he shall keep a record of their transactions. 

3. The Corresponding Secretaries, subject to the 
order of the Board of Directors, shall be the organs 
of comnmnicalion with other societies, and with in- 
dividuals. 

4. The Treasurer shall collect and receive all 
moneys of the Institute, and shall render an accurate 
statement of all his receipts and payments, annually, 
and whenev^er called upon by the Board of Direc- 
tors ; to whom he shall give such bonds for the faith- 
ful performance of his duty, as they shall require. 
He shall make no payment except by their order. 

5. To the Board of Directors shall be entrusted 
the general interests of the society, with authority to 



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devise and carry Into execution such measures as 
may promote its objects. It shall be their duty to 
appoint some suitable person to deliver an address 
before the Institute, at their annual meeting ; to select 
competent persons to serve on Standing Committees, 
or to deliver lectures, on such subjects relating to edu- 
cation as they may deem expedient and useful ; to 
collect such facts, as may promote the general objects 
of the society ; and to provide convenient accommo- 
dations for the meetings. They shall, at the annual 
meeting, exhibit their records, and report to the In- 
stitute. They shall have power to fill all vacancies 
in their Board, from members of the society, and 
make By-Laws for hs government. 

6. It shall be the particular duty of the Curators to 
select books, and to take charge of the library of the 
Institute. 

7. The Censors shall have authority to procure for 
publication the annual address and lectures. It shall 
be their duty to examine the annual reports of the 
Standing Committees, and all other communications 
made to the society ; and to publish such of them, as, 
in their estimation, may tend to throw light on the 
subject of education, and aid the faithful Instructer in 
the discharge of his duty. 

8. It shall be the duty of the President, the Vice 
Presidents, and Counsellors, severally, to recommend 
to the consideration of the Board of Directors such 
subjects of inquiry, as, in their opinion, may best ad- 
vance the great objects of the Institute. 



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9. Stated meetings of the Board of Directors shall 
be held at Boston on the first Wednesday in January ; 
on the last Wednesday in May ; and on the day next 
preceding that of the annual meeting of the Institute 
in August. 

ARTICLE VI BY-LAWS AND AMENDMENTS. 

1. By-Laws, not repugnant to this Constitution, 
may be adopted at any regular meeting. 

2. This Constitution may be altered or amended, 
by a vote of two thirds of the members present at the 
annual meeting, provided two thirds of the Directors, 
present at a stated meeting, shall agree to recommend 
the proposed alteration or amendment. 



BY-L,AWS. 



I. At all meetings of the Board of Directors, seven 
members shall be necessary to constitute a quorum to 
do business. 

II. The Board of Directors shall annually choose 
a Committee of Finance, whose duty it shall be to 
audit the accounts of the Treasurer, and, under the 
control of the Board of Directors, to draw orders on 
the Treasurer for the payment of charges against the 
Institute. 

III. It shall be the duty of the Recording Secre- 
tary, on application of any two Directors, to call 
special meetings of the Board. 



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OFFICERS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF 
INSTRUCTION FOR THE YEAR 1831—1832. 

PRESIDENT. 

Francis Wayland, President of Brown 
University, Providence, R. L 

VICE PRESIDENTS. 

Wm. B. Calhoun, Springfield, Mass. 

Wm. Sullivan, Boston, " 

John Adams, Andover, " 

John Park, Worcester, '' 

Thos. H. Gallaudet, Hartford, Ct. 

Andrew Yates, Chittenango, N. Y. 

Roberts Vaux, Philadelphia, Pa. 

Wm. C. Fowler, Proiessor in Middlebury 

College, Middlebury, Vt. 
Reuben Haines, Germantown, Pa. 
Benj. B. Wisner, Boston, Mass. 
Thos. S. Grimke, Charleston, S. C. 
John Griscom, New York, N. Y. 
Timothy Flint, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Philip Lindsley, President of the University 

of Tennessee, Nashville, Tenn. 
Alva Woods, President of the University 

of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala. 
Benjamin Abbot, Exeter, N. H. 
William Wirt, Baltimore, Md. 

RECORDING SECRETARY. 

Gideon F. Thayer, Boston, Mass. 



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CORRESPONDING SECRETARIES. 

Solomon P. Miles, Boston, Mass. 
Wm. C. Woodbridge, Hartford Ct, 

TREASURER. 

Benj. D. Emerson, Boston, Mass. 

CURATORS. 

Abraham Andrews, Boston, Mass. 
Frederick Emerson, " '' 

Cornelius Walker, '^ " 

CENSORS. 

Ebenezer Bailey, Boston, Mass. 
Jacob Abbot, " " 

C. C. Felton, Cambridge. 



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COUNSELLORS. 



Wm. J. Adams, New York, N. Y. 
James G. Carter, Lancaster, Mass. 
William Russell, Germantown, Pa. 
Joseph Emerson, Weathersfield, Ct. 
William Forrest, New York, N. Y. 
Walter R. Johnson, Philadelphia, Pa. 
John Kingsbury, Providence, R. I. 
Samuel P. Newman, Professor of Bowdoin 

College, Brunswick, Me. 
Henry K. Oliver, Salem, Mass. 
Asa Rand, Boston, Mass. 
O. A. Shaw, Richmond, Va. 
Elipha White, John's Island, S. C. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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